Giselle
by The Ryuu Victoire Tea Party
Summary: A ballet so hauntingly beautiful that none are left unscathed. After Nina's fall, she slowly recovers and learns what it means to be inherently tangled in darkness. Nina/Lily
1. Act 1 and 2

**Giselle**

_ACT 1_

* * *

><p>The pointe shoes hit the wooden floor in perfect time. It made for a rhythmical drumming amidst the piano that was being played from the corner of the room. The dancers moved one after the other across the center of the room.<p>

"Give us a little more lift, Nina, show us how it's done." clapped the older instructor, a woman called Natalia, turning to the line of young women about to begin again. "Veronica, go, and give us a proper jeté. En deuxième arabesque, les filles. Mind your arms."

Out of breath and heart pounding against her neck, Nina caught her breath on the other side of the room, facing her reflection as the rest of the girls went. Her fingers trailed against the pane of the mirror as she watched the rest of the dancers jump out of the corner of her eye.

"Good. Good." Natalia clapped loudly and the piano playing ended.

The last of the dancers landed softly to the ground, wooden shoes lightly tapping in the silence as she moved rapidly from the centre to join the other women.

"That is enough. We will meet back in forty."

The grey fire doors of the well lit practice room swung open and close heavily as everybody left, a nervous chatter resounding in the air, quite different from the lyrical piano playing moments earlier.

Nina grabbed her things and spent a few moments focusing on her breathing as she sped alongside the mirror. For a first day back, the familiarity was at once undoubtedly easy and yet crushingly terrifying. Nina glanced into the mirror in a moment of vanity just before leaving the practice room, her bag slung casually over her shoulders.

She had hoped this day would never come. Time to hang up the ribbons, the wooden boxes, the blisters and the injuries up and take up cooking, or something. Resolutely, she had wished her world goodbye, relief pouring over her as blood pooled onstage.

But her recovery had been unlike anything any in the Company had ever seen. Within a month she was back on her feet (wobbly, like a deer caught in the headlights, wide eyed and disbelieving.)

A voice drew her out of her thoughts. "Lily! Lily! You're back!" The girls ahead in the grey cement hallway were squealing with joy, turning around a corner that Nina could not see. Almost imperceptibly Nina could hear Lily's voice: "Yeah, my flight from Cali was late. Again! Did I miss anything good?" And then the voices of the others gleefully responding...

Nina quickly turned back and headed for another way out.

* * *

><p>For the audition, she unwrapped new pointes from the light beige papier de soie. She had half heartedly taken them the night before and shoved them in her bag. They were her last unused pair from the previous season.<p>

They were not quite broken in, and not quite ready for her feet. As she wrapped her toes in wool, the other soloists walked into the principal studio, chatting and laughing. Nina looked up briefly before gingerly placing her left foot into her the wooden shoe. She couldn't think of a sensation that brought more conflicting feelings. Despite the rigidity of the brand new box, Nina couldn't help the delight bubbling up in her chest.

Her first day in the studio, her first day on pointe in months. Thomas knew of her circumstance, she knew that she would not be expected to shine.

Nina could not tell if this pleased her or not. She wrapped the pink ribbon firmly around her left ankle and moved to place the right one on properly.

The door swung open abruptly and the last of the soloists entered the room.

A familiar voice made Nina look up. "The weather was kind of a drag, actually. Just too hot, I felt like a lazy bum all summer, I think I'm finally getting used to East Cost living you know?"

Breathing in deeply, she bit her lip and looked back down.

It was her sixth year with the company and nobody was more surprised than Nina at her still being there.

She stood up, working out the stiffness as she rose like a cat from her crossed legged position on the floor.

In first position, she closed her eyes, took a breath, opened her eyes once more to her reflection and in one smooth relevé was on pointe again.

Thomas and Natalia and several other choreographers and directors walked in, and set up a bench to watch the soloists. A few male dancers walked in as well, picked for the partner pieces. As everybody set up, Nina was quite thoroughly lost in the sensation of being on her toes again. The morning during the warm up at the barre and in the centre she'd been on demi pointe, feeling slightly isolated from the other dancers who seemed to be floating effortlessly around her as she stepped back into the water, ready to attack the waves.

She twirled slowly, staying on pointe, her ankles already feeling the strain. Taking care not to stress her legs, she executed a few more relevés and stretched her legs out by her sides.

Thomas glanced her way and she was quite careful to meet his gaze. He had put a lot of faith in her once, and though he had had little choice in her staying in the Company, he was visibly apprehensive.

Lily walked by Nina, a genuine smile on her lips. "Hey!" she exclaimed into the reflection. "You ready?"

Nina got off her toes and met her former alternate's gaze.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Well it's now or never, right?" Her grin was intact, but not unkind. "You'll do great."

"Thanks." Nina almost whispered. "You too."

"We'll have to catch up, hmm? Maybe we should get a drink sometime." Lily said, eyes sparkling. Tying her light brown hair above her head, she turned and walked away. Nina craned her neck to watch her leave, an indescribable feeling fogging her mind.

Thomas clapped his hands and spoke, his voice like a boombox in the echoing studio. "Okay girls. Let's begin."

She's not picked for the lead, which was to be expected. Her audition is even less successful than her disastrous one last season. She is unable to do the fouttés on anything more than demi pointe, and she stumbles three times during the dévelopés. Thomas sighs and places his hands behind his head, thanks her and asks her to return to the side.

As Nina watches Lily execute every grand jeté with ghostly airlessness, she watches Thomas face of relief as her formal rival becomes the new Company star.

A phantom pain in her stomach surges and her breath hitches.

Nina unties the soft ribbons of her pointe shoes and tears them off. While Thomas and the other directors review each other dancer, she fights the urge to grab her things and leave.

As she watches Lily's infectious smile and the effortless way she charms everyone around her, a cold shiver crawls up her arms.

* * *

><p><em>ACT 2<em>

* * *

><p>The mirror stares back at her faithfully. Nina picks it up faithfully, fingers lightly brushing against the edges, before placing it on the bed next to a small pile of miscellaneous things to take with her.<p>

"Nina, you don't... You've got to be kidding me. You've hardly been back on your feet, this is much too soon... Nina. Nina, stop. This isn't wise!"

Nina lets Erika speak as she takes another duffel back from the closet. She's bought three new large bags over the past three weeks for this purpose. Finally she has enough to fit all of her dance clothes and shoes, the little street clothes she owns, needles, hair products, jewelry, books, manuals, and two journals from her childhood.

"This is quite possibly the worst idea I've ever heard! I'm... Nina. Nina put that back!"

Nina looks at the object between her fingers. It's a spare roll of ribbons.

"I need this, mom."

"Just...how do you expect to get back on your feet without help, Nina?"

Nina zipped her last duffel bag closed. "I'm on my feet already."

The statement, while valid, only seems to infuriate Erica more. Her eyes are gleaming with tears and her black, long clothes sway as she collapses in a chair by the door.

"I can't let you leave. You don't know how to live alone. You don't know what it's like."

Nina looks at the dejected Erika muttering through tears by her bed. Unflinchingly, she takes her belongings and walks out.

Downstairs, she pushes the doors of her building open with her shoulder. The sky is grey. It is not raining heavily - the droplets fall lazily. Nina places the two largest duffel bags on the curb and sits on them. The rain falls on her neck, exposed. She'd packed her scarves, and was not bothered enough to fish one out.

Her cell phone vibrates in her pocket. She flips it open.

"Incoming voice call: Mom", the display reads.

Sighing, she shuts the cell phone off and closes the lid. For a few moments, her hand hovers, leaning against her knee, fingers enclosing the phone...and then she lets her arm go limp. One by one her fingers loosen and the cellphone drops onto the street, where it rolls and splashes into the gutter.

She'll get a new phone eventually. A new number. A cab finally stops and the cabby picks up her suitcases and asks her where she wants to go.

She thinks about it for a moment as she slides into the backseat. She gives the cabby the name to a small but nice hotel on the Upper East Side near the park.

* * *

><p>The room smells like a hotel room. It's better than a hospital room, and it's better than her room at home. It smells clean, with a hint of something flowery. She lowers the air conditioning strength almost as soon as she walks into room 12.<p>

She showers and changes and spends a moment on the crisp, fluffy sheets of the hotel bed. Lying down and facing the ceiling, she presses her cheek against the light blue sheet and stares out the window.

The sun is peaking through the rain, and Nina smiles.

She starts to laugh. It feels absolutely lovely.

Getting up, Nina puts on a pair of jeans she hasn't worn in months, and pulls on a black sweater. She sees the duffel bags strewn across the floor and resolves to pack everything as soon as she returns.

Grabbing her wallet and her key card, Nina leaves the room, shutting the door delicately behind her.

* * *

><p>"Nina?" a perplexed voice calls out amongst the raindrops. "What are you doing here?"<p>

Turning around, Nina quickly tucks her long brown hair behind her ears. Lily catches up to her, a light brown leather jack nearly falling off her shoulders. In one hand Lily's carrying a small purple umbrella, and every step she takes is marked by a soft clic of a high heel on the cement sidewalk.

Nina feels like a wide eyed animal having spotted a predator advancing. She tries her best not to sound breathless. "Walking."

"No, I mean, what are you doing in this part of town?"

Nina does wonder what is so extraordinary about her being here, of all places. Perhaps because there is no precedent of this kind of afternoon for her. She rarely strolls, spending an afternoon in the light breeze on a showery August day.

On the street next to the pair, traffic stalls and drivers start swearing at each other brashly.

"I'm staying at a hotel nearby." Nina says, difficultly speaking over the noise, "I just decided to take a walk."

Lily's face clears with understanding, and her slow smile of comprehension sneaks to her mouth.

"Well," she said, something like determination creeping on her face, "I have a wonderful idea. Come out to dinner with me? And then I'm meeting some friends at a bar. Galina said she might drop by too."

Nina nods slowly at first. "Where are we going?"

"Come on, I don't feel like walking after a whole first day back at the studio. Let's grab a cab." Lily motions to the four way intersection not too far ahead, and walks by Nina quickly.

Lily's hand trails along Nina's arm for no more than a brief moment. Nonetheless through the soft fabric of the black sweater Nina feels the feather light touch and shivers.

"You know, I'm really glad you are back on your feet. How'd you feel about this afternoon?"

Nina doesn't respond that it feels like the audition had happened centuries ago. She shrugs instead.

"So what's with all this white ballet era stuff? It's like Thomas is having a huge Romantic boner these days. Maybe we should just say melodramatic instead of romantic..."

The chatter continues, about ballet, about men, about San Francisco. Nina finds herself half listening. The other half of her mind is nowhere to be found. For the rest of the cab ride, she finds herself enjoying the sound of Lily speaking animatedly.

* * *

><p>Galina, another dancer in the Company, complains none too loudly at Lily for having dragged Nina to the trendy Soho bar. The other friends of Lily's have no idea who she is or what she's done and ask her questions about dancing and Lily's crazy life. Nina doesn't let too much sink in - the ambiance is relaxed and soaks through her. They are on an outside patio and amidst the cigarette smoke and smell of summer and perfume there is still the August breeze cooled with rain. And Lily smiles with blazing eyes and Nina finds herself unable to remember which way the ground is and which way's the sky.<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning her sheets are ruffled and she orders up orange juice and toasted bagels to her room.<p>

"Who needs mother when you've got room service?" she smiles to herself while brushing her teeth.

She pulls out the largest duffel bag containing all of her dance clothes and sorts through what she wants to wear quickly. She has to warm up and stretch for a good bit before heading down to the subway.

As Nina is on the floor and is stretched out in a full split, forehead gently pressed against her knee as she works out the seemingly eternal aching from her stiff legs. She hears the shuffling of sheets, and a muffled sound not unlike a hum or a pleased moan from the bed.

She straightens her back and twists to gaze at her empty sheets.

There is a knock on the door. It's her orange juice and bagels.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: First attempt at writing fun stuff in a good while. Ballet terminology is not to be taken too seriously though I shouldn't be too off the mark. This fic will come across like a lot of NinaLily stuff out there, especially at first glance, with the fact that I picked Giselle before even reading any of the other fics because I've been studying Les Sylphides and Giselle choreographies for class so I was like "herp derp let's put this in and sounds knowledgeable!" Also, if you dislike lesbians and the fun things they do consider yourself warned.  
>So yeah, Act 1 and 2 are light and fluffy, but expect the pace to pick up quite a bit.<br>**


	2. Act 3

**Giselle**

_ACT 3_

* * *

><p>"How is work, Nina?"<p>

Nina's cheek rests on her gathered up knees as she stares at the wall next to the window. The window blinds let sheets of light enter the dull room. Her therapist, an older woman with a fondness for horned-rim glasses (as far as Nina can tell, she wears a different-coloured pair every session) sits on a chair with printer paper scattered around her desk by her side. The papers are fairly devoid of writing. Only key words in blue ink mark the pages. Nina can't tell what the words are though, from her curled up position on a white couch by the wall.

"Nina? What's on your mind?"

"Oh...Ummm..." Nina blinks several times. "Nothing really. I'm a little tired."

"Tired? Are you overworked?"

"No, no." Nina smiles shyly. "It's just...it's a new season... New production."

"Which one?"

"Giselle." Nina's smile breaks off a little, her eyes becoming a little hazy. "It's like Thomas is on a Romantic binge, or something."

"How are your feet?"

"Me feet are getting stronger."

"Happy to dance again?"

"I am finally seeing a coach for dancing on pointe again, because Thomas wants to keep me with the soloists. And I'm nearly done physio for the other injuries."

"You have been sleeping alright?"

Nina looks at the note her therapist just jotted. "Yes." Her therapists eyes are faced down on the paper, horned rimmed glasses falling off the tip of her nose. Nina cranes her neck to try and see the words.

"What about your mother?"

Nina shrugs. "Fine, I guess."

"When did you last speak?"

"When I left."

"Three weeks ago?" One of the therapists eyebrows have risen, and she stares full on in Nina's direction. "Don't you feel that's a little cowardly?"

Nina looks towards the window. "No."

"You haven't felt like calling her at all?"

"I can't think of anything I want to talk to her about."

"Don't you think she has things she wants to talk about?"

"I don't..." Nina inhales slowly.

"Yes?"

This time Nina meets her therapist's eyes.

"I really don't care."

A slow, knowing smile grows on her therapists mouth. "Well, that's not a very mature response. You were right in leaving home, and you were right in putting distance between you both. But don't forget that your mother did stand by you your entire life."

Nina keeps holding her therapists gaze. "I guess."

"Has she made any attempts to contact you?"

Nina nods. "Suzie in the office tells me she calls nonstop to check up on me. "

"But not to talk to you specifically?"

Nina shrugs. "I don't know."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop harassing this subject. Just, bear in mind, Nina, you aren't going to be angry forever. One day you are going to wish you hadn't burnt that bridge."

Nina takes a few more breaths as she turns her head to look out the window again.

"Speaking of moving out, how's the new place?"

Nina is thankful for the subject change. "It's fine." she says without hesitation, "In fact, I rather like it. My bedroom windows get a lot of sun in the morning."

"Is it decorated yet?"

"I... No."

"You didn't go buy furniture last weekend?"

"No."

"Do you enjoy an utterly vacant space? I would find that demoralizing."

"I should buy furniture soon."

"Sounds good. It's important feel at home." her therapists hesitates before continuing, checking her papers. "Last time you were here you mentioned going out to dinner with... with...another dancer at the Co-"

"Lily." Nina interrupts.

"Have you been out since?"

"No."

"Have you..." Nina faces her therapist again, unfolding her legs to stretch them out along the couch. "Do you think you'll be hanging out again?"

"I don't know." Nina sighs. "Probably. She's very busy."

"Busier than you?"

"She's the lead."

"The lead? Of the production you mean?"

"Yes."

"Oh? And...at the risk of sounding like a cliché, how does that make you feel?"

"She deserves it." Nina shrugs. "I guess I'm glad for her."

"You guess you're glad."

"I'm glad."

"You sure sound like somebody's who's glad."

"I am."

"Have you spoken at work at all? Exchanged words between rehearsals? She sounds like somebody who could be a friend, which you might need, Nina."

Nina just nods.

"Don't you agree?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I do."

Her therapist puts away the papers and takes off her horned rim glasses to clean them with her skirt.

"You know Nina, you are not required to see me because I am so good at monologuing. I need more feedback from you. And I can't just be saying nonsense. A patient is not a brick wall that simply nods and smiles and bounces back every word I say. Question me. Yell at me. Laugh at me. But this passive nodding and then more nodding is not going to get you what you need. Understood?"

"Yeah. I do."

"So you'll make an effort to communicate with...Lily? And anybody else? I'm not asking you to become best friends and go out every night and become the most popular girl in class - I'm just asking that you spend a little more time being social, to get you out of your head."

Nina feels her toes crack inside her ugg boots. "I'll...make an effort."

Her therapist, seeming unconvinced, nods with pursed lips and tells her her time is up.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE<strong>: More character development, because it was fun to write. Also, would just like to welcome the two reviews who sent me notes! It made my evening. Anyways, 'till next time.


	3. Act 4

**Giselle**

_Act 4_

* * *

><p><em>Nina's back.<em>

The voices surrounded her like a mist of Church incense - smoky and familiar and threatening to make her throat itch and her eyes water.

_Look at her. She's gained so much weight from sitting on her ass all day in the hospital._

_Flabby thighs on Nina, who would have thought._

_Has anybody seen Thomas' face yet?_

The twinkling, judging eyes were pretty effective as well. Veiled by dark eyelashes and robed with grins of delight at the prospect of the living scandal herself waltzing back, her tail between her legs. Nobody doubted that the story was nowhere near finished, as far as delicious gossip was concerned. Thomas, the very day after Black Swan's opening, had been tearing his hair out and yelling furiously in French at all those who dared breathe in his presence. He had felt betrayed and furious - and though Lily was more than ready to dance the part, that did little to comfort him. If it had not been for executive meddling - the ballet had sold out impressively throughout the next month of its showing - Nina Sawyers would have lost her job, and quite possibly her entire career. Though a principal dancer in the Company, Nina had never sought external contacts thanks to her mother's influence. New York City was the real deal, there was no doubt about it, but her lack of backup served as a cold shower to not only herself but many of the other dancers working under Thomas.

Still, they all delighted in watching Nina's fall, reminding themselves of their own seeming invulnerability. Nina had been weak, Nina had fallen. So as she took back her mirror in the soloists' changing room, she had to deal with all the grinning, smirking, delighted faces of those who had been following every rumor and every whisper of her demise with lingering shudder inducing satisfaction.

Nina took off her scarf off and looked around. As was to be expected, Lily had been relocated to her and Beth's old changing room. It seemed that for the time being Nina was without allies. Breathing in deeply and facing her own image in the mirror, Nina proceeded to face her first day back, a not so fading determination in her eyes to not break.

A month since that day, and Nina's eyes were still meeting that mirror with unflinching resolve. She would not utter a word as she brushed her hair and coiled it up as tight as she possibly could. No matter who bumped into her chair or wrote nasty notes in eyeliner on her mirror, she barely let herself blink. Maybe she was trying too hard to appear uncaring.

"Nina. We're going to be late." shot out Galina, who was trailing behind Veronica and the rest of the dancers leaving the room. Nina finished wrapping her knee in an old black leg warmer which was so old it was barely recognizable as a single unit of fabric anymore.

"Coming." Nina called out as she picked up her blue duffel bag and left without one last glance into the mirror.

* * *

><p>The dancers filled into the black practice room that also served as an auditorium and practice stage during cast ensemble rehearsals. Nina walked down the stairs in her pointe shoes careful not to trip - she could not risk another injury no matter how small.<p>

"Ladies, gentlemen, s'il vous plaît, echauffez-vous." Natalia said from the centre of the room, a long black scarf hanging off her shoulders. "Let's not lose time." One of the main rehearsal pianists in the corner was setting up his music and uncovering a beautiful black piano in one of the corners.

As Nina grabbed a nearby railing and rose en pointe, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anticipation for the day to come. Their very first rehearsal of choreographies together. The ballet was far from perfect and Nina didn't need to imagine just how overworked Lily must have been.

"Hey!" came the chipper voice behind her just Nina was about to start extending her legs for a quick tendue exercise.

"Hi." Nina said, eyes lowering briefly as she readjusting her first position.

"You look good," Lily said with what Nina would probably describe as a kind smirk. "How are the banshees treating you today?"

Nina blinked as she kept on stretching, but occasionally peered over to watch Lily put on an extra sweater over her leotard. "Banshees?"

"Oh, you know," Lily said as she swept her hair from her eyes in her usual casual fashion. "Willis. Ghost. Ghosts who talk bigger than they can even dance. So...Banshees."

Nina understood and offered a shy smile of gratitude. As she extended her arms and leaned towards the bar, Nina was amazed at the words that next left her lips.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Lily blinked. "What?" She was on the floor getting a good stretch out of her legs, but staring in confusion at Nina, who wanted to sink into the floor and vanish.

Natalia interrupted the chatter in the room. "Un autre dix minutes pour l'échauffement, tout le monde. Thomas sera en retard."

Lily raised an eyebrow at the head choreographer as everybody resumed their chatting. "That's new. So," she said, her mouth held slightly open as she returned her gaze to Nina. "What do you mean, nice to you? We've gone dancing, out to dinner, we've had a few laughs..."

That is one way of putting it, thought Nina. "I guess. I guess I always did wonder why you were kind to me from the beginning. And even now."

"What can I say. We're just weird back in old San Francisco." she shrugged as she stood up and almost immediately was back on the ground doing the splits.

"I...I..." Nina stopped warming up and fiddled with her right nails.

"Nina, don't sweat, okay? It was a joke." Lily said, smiling, but there was something different, and Nina was no expert in people, but she knew how to identify disappointed eyes like nobody's business.

"Lily..." Nina began, but was interrupted by an abrupt swinging open of a door. Thomas.

"I'm here," came his familiar accented voice, "Everyone, I am deeply apologetic for the delay. Let's begin from the very beginning. Everybody at their positions, please, and nobody stress if you don't know where to go next on the floor for a move. That is what these rehearsals are for."

Natalia grabbed his arm and the both of them walked towards the piano, discussing in hushed voices. As Lily walked to her position around the stage, she finished trying a long dark skirt around her waist.

Nina sighed, rubbing her hands and brushing back her already pulled back hair from her forehead. With a slight bounce she rose to point for a few steps before walking with the rest of the soloists.

As Natalia and the pianist began discussing what music (and what changes necessary) would be played for the first scene, Thomas already started reorganizing the positions of dancers "off stage."

"Veronica, Madeline, switch places," he said before turning to the men, "and don't forget what we talked about Thursday about facial expressions, Sergio. Julian, step further back, we don't need any more accidents."

The pianist started in earnest. Nina subconsciously began counting the music's time, and raised her chest off her stomach as she prepared her body for the first move.

"Okay, everybody, in position, quatre, trois, deux, et Go!"

* * *

><p>Those words haunted Nina for the rest of the performance. <em>I guess we're just weird in San Francisco. Why are you being nice to me? What? We've gone dancing, out to dinner, we've had a few laughs, from the beginning, it was a joke, don't sweat it, Nina, I guess we're just weird...<em>The memories seemed even sharper after every lap around Nina's thoughts.

She faced her mirror with shivers crawling right up and down her arms and lower back. She was folding her pointe shoes in a towel to dry them out and getting ready to pack her things when the last of the dancers left, giggling and chatting, and turned off the lights.

"Excuse me, I'm still in here," Nina said with a bit more force in her voice than she was used to using. From down the hallway came the too-cheerful "Sorry Nina!"

Resigned and breathing deeply, she put down a small hand towel she'd been using on her face and got up from her seat in front of the mirror. The mirrors in the dressing room were moving the faint light from outside the dressing room in a confusing manner, and Nina tried to ignore the slow feeling of terror moving from the base of her stomach up to her rib cage.

The lights turned back on.

"Afraid of the dark?" said an all too familiar voice with a raised eyebrow.

Nina caught her breath, trying to shake the shaking from her fingertips as she propped her hand by a stray chair. "You startled me."

"Sorry. They're being real jerks, aren't they?" Lily said, staring down the hallway from her laid back position of leaning against the door's threshold. "They need to get over it, jeeze. This isn't high school anymore."

"Some people never do grow up." Nina said quietly.

"All right, well I'm going. It's late. You going home?" For some reason it made Lily's smile return, and despite her previous scare, Nina was feeling better all ready.

"Yeah." Nina breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Let me just get my things."

The two walked each other to the subway, and though they mostly walked in silence, Nina was vastly comforted by the company.

"I am not looking forward to the cold." Lily said, tying her scarf around her neck a little closer as they walked into the wind tunnel that was the subway entrance.

"Lily..." Nina began, "are you busy this weekend?"

"Apart from rehearsal on Saturday and me sleeping in on Sunday until the apocalypse and then some, yeah."

"I..." Nina tried to collect what was left of her muddled courage, "I have an empty apartment. I was wondering if...if you wanted to help."

Nina felt very small, then. They were sitting on a bench, waiting for their train, and the wind going through was both stale and cold and unpleasant.

Lily's face looked a little suspicious, but her eyes were not unkind as far as Nina could gather. "You want me to go furniture shopping with you?"

Nina then wondered if that wasn't something friends did, and she wondered if she'd just made the worst social faux-pas of the past day since that morning in rehearsal.

"So what are we talking, mindless Ikea mix and match or hiking through the City looking into silly little antique stores and paying way too much money for antiques that were factory made bran spanking new when I was twelve?"

Nina's mouth opened briefly, as if to say something, but she shut it quickly. She had no idea what to say.

"I don't really know where to start." She briefly wondered if the expression on Lily's face was pity. It made her think, was that something she actually deserved? Was that how far gone into her own mind she was?

"Okay, look. I don't have time this weekend, I was kind of hoping to get drunk off my ass then veg while watching General Hospital episodes. Can you hold off for another weekend? Or if you can't, do you mind holding off on most of the decorating until the weekend after?"

"Oh of course, of course," Lily was more than a little amused at the horrified look on Nina's face, "You've got the role and Thomas on your back... I'm so sorry..." she'd physically recoiled away and broken eye contact with the other brunette.

"Nina. Stop." Lily rolled her eyes, "Weekend after this one, okay? You have two weeks to think of ideas of what you want your apartment to look like." She grinned and placed her hand on Nina's knee below her grey sweatpants. "That way I can come and put some chaos into your beautiful ordered life." Lily's thumb spent a split second rubbing along the fabric of her pants, and then before Nina could tell herself to remember what that felt like, Lily's hand was gone and the smiling girl was standing.

"This is my stop. Get home safe Nina."

And with the rush of the sliding doors and the rumble of the rickety subway car, Nina watched as Lily's silhouette vanished from view.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>_ This is probably going to be my last timely update for a few days. I highly suggest you double check my livejournal (check my profile above) for the next instalment if you're really enthralled. I update that place on average two to three days earlier than this place. (No real reason other than I'm lazy with the whole ff dot net interface.)_

_For my reviewers, you are all adorable and I'm so glad you enjoy this. (If I don't get around to individually answering, it's probably because I forgot how, again.)_

_Criticism and thoughts are always appreciated._


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